To the Editor:
On a number of occasions I've heard that Dartmouth is "Dean Country," and it is refreshing to see that The Dartmouth has endorsed Senator John Edwards for President. And for good reason, too -- Edwards has stayed above the fray, waging a generally positive campaign ripe with optimism wrapped in a million dollar smile. He's a southern populist, charismatic and charming, with a compelling personal history. What Edwards is not, though, is running for president.
A well-known joke in North Carolina has it that the senator is running for president because he won't win reelection to his senate seat, a seat that has traditionally switched parties each time it is up for grabs. Edwards has played his cards well and knows that he is far and away the most attractive vice presidential candidate going. He managed to avoid the Dean-Gephardt sniping that characterized the Iowa caucus, and his personal dynamism provides a nice contrast to John Kerry's Cambridge aloofness or Howard Dean's politics of volume. Like any savvy politician, Edwards saw his niche and has exploited it well; his political career now stands good chance of surviving beyond 2004. Don't get me wrong. I am a fan of Edwards, but, when I go into the voting booth Tuesday, I will be casting a vote for the democratic nominee for president. Edwards, by all measures, will serve admirably as the No. 2 man.
